Teens are going crazy for classics like 'Wuthering Heights' thanks to this One Direction fanfic

Anna Todd's One Direction fan fiction saga "After" has people
around the world picking up copies of her bestselling books, but
the series has also inspired young readers to reach for a
completely different genre — classic novels.

"After," first
published on digital reading platform Wattpad, traces a torrid
romance between the fictional Tessa Young and a fantasy version
of One Direction heartthrob Harry Styles. Harry and Tessa,
or "Hessa" as they're known collectively, make several
references to tales like Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice"
and Emily Brontë's "Wuthering Heights" in the book.

Here's an excerpt from "After,"
from a scene where Tessa peruses Harry's bookshelf for the
first time.

"I scan through the titles and I am impressed by the owner
of this collection, there are many classics including all of my
favorites. I grab 'Wuthering Heights' and pull it off the shelf.
It is in bad shape, the pages showing how many times it has been
read."

In the fictional world of "After," Styles has a thing for
the classics and fans of the stories have taken
notice.

"The classic novels mentioned in
'After,' there’s a lot of younger girls who are reading them
now," Todd told Tech Insider. "It’s become a trend."

Todd, known on Twitter as
@imaginator1dx,
says she regularly hears this from her fans.

Started reading Wurthering Heights and Pride and Prejudice because of After 😊 @imaginator1dx

Many of these titles are available in the public domain, so
Wattpad users can read them for free online. One user
has even curated "Hessa's
Library," a digital bookshelf where fans will find all the
classics referenced in "After."

Classics available in
Hessa's library.Wattpad

Since Todd's work started gaining popularity, a Wattpad
representative says they've seen reads of these stories increase
on the platform. Thanks largely to
Todd, "Pride
and Prejudice" currently has over 3.5 million reads on
Wattpad and "Wuthering
Heights" has just over 1 million. Staggering numbers, when
you consider this is a platform best known for fanfiction stories
about
Disney princesses and Justin
Bieber.

@imaginator1dx you made me reading "pride and prejudice" i started to like classic literature, im going to read more now, thanks!! 💕💕

It's not entirely surprising that Todd's fans find
themselves enjoying "Pride and Prejudice" and "Wuthering
Heights." While these stories might not feature members
erotic scenes with members of a certain British boy-band,
there's no lack of romance, a theme at the heart of "After."